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“Synthetic” and “natural” are largely useless terms. But not “semisynthetic.” It’s a real word that describes a critical process in drug development and production. Here’s how it solved the supply problem of paclitaxel (Taxol), a hugely important cancer drug.

Despite public opinion, the wellness industry is profoundly and almost absurdly commercial. It sells, among its products and services, supplements, programs, retreats, coaching, devices, courses, books, subscriptions, and, perhaps most importantly for this distinction, therapeutic identities. Capitalism with yoga is still capitalism.

Washington is once again caught up in the politics of picking a Surgeon General. But after a year-long vacancy that hasn’t made Americans any sicker, maybe the real problem isn’t who fills the role—it’s that the role exists at all.

We pride ourselves on doing more in less time, juggling emails, decisions, and deadlines as if productivity were a competitive sport. But what feels like efficiency is often just rapid task-switching, and every switch carries a measurable cognitive cost. From everyday office work to the operating room, these hidden penalties quietly erode performance in ways we rarely notice but cannot afford to ignore.

As raw milk regains popularity, it is testing not only our taste for “natural” foods but also our ability to recognize and respond to risk. Early warning signals, once chirping canaries in coal mines, now come from courtrooms, insurers, and outbreak data, each offering a different lens on potential harm.

If you're on TikTok, you've probably seen people claiming that two over the counter medications (one for stomach acid relief and the other for seasonal allergies) can treat anxiety and depression on the spot. But as with any health fad on the internet, this one isn't clinically proven.

Yet another TikTok poisoning has just been reported—this time involving Benadryl again. If you have teenagers, you might feel the urge to run out and buy some syrup of ipecac just in case. You can’t. Here’s why.

Antibiotic resistance is a moving target, and even the most successful drugs eventually lose their edge. Around the turn of this century, we set out to develop a successor to one of Wyeth’s biggest antibiotics—only to discover just how difficult that path would be. What followed was a fast-paced, international effort that came close to success, but ultimately revealed the harsh realities of drug development.

My dog Juno seems to know a storm is coming long before the sky darkens. A sensitivity that feels almost supernatural. But emerging research suggests her “spidey sense” may not be mysterious at all. Instead, it may lie in low-frequency vibrations below the threshold of hearing that quietly shapes our mood, stress, and sense of unease.

“I’m bored” may sound like a problem to solve, but it’s an opportunity in disguise. In a world where screens and packed schedules dominate childhood, boredom has quietly lost its place—and with it, a powerful driver of creativity and independence. Research shows that boredom fuels creativity, problem-solving, and self-directed skill-building by encouraging children to explore and innovate without adult scaffolding. A lesson for parents: occasional boredom is a low-risk feature of healthy development, not a bug to be fixed.

The asbestos crisis showed what happens when a hidden hazard becomes a legal tidal wave. PFAS is following a disturbingly familiar script, and the opening act is already underway.

Ketogenic diets can help some obese people lose a significant amount of weight when their health is at risk. But in recent months, social media influencers have also credited these very low-carb diets with a far more remarkable effect: treating, or even curing, schizophrenia. Is there any truth to this claim, or is it just another social media fad racing ahead of the evidence?

Our military has long treated the body as an instrument of collective strength, with individual choice yielding to operational necessity. In the shadow of COVID-era tensions, Secretary Hegseth’s decision to remove the influenza vaccine from the list of required immunizations challenges that tradition, raising a deeper question: not whether the flu shot works, but whether mandating it still serves the mission.

Earlier this month, Wall Street Journal columnist Charles Fain Lehman highlighted a new working paper on drug decriminalization in Oregon and Washington. The study linked reforms to higher violent and property crime rates, but left unanswered whether decriminalization itself was to blame—or if fentanyl, the pandemic, and policing shifts were the real drivers.

The battle is over. "Deadly" Red dye #3 has been banned, and the public will be "healthier." But the battle is meaningless because if the war were serious, MAHA would be talking loudly and often about alcohol, a real and serious threat. But the silence is deafening. Perhaps a new name like "Make American Hangovers Acceptable" would be more accurate.

Have you seen the viral video of an influencer telling us to ditch the sunscreen and drink watermelon juice instead? We’re not joshing you— watch our video, and how we respond!

After warning for years—to policymakers’ deaf ears—that doubling down on failed drug war policies will only cause more dangerous drugs, like nitazenes, to emerge, we see it happening in real time.

What goes viral online isn’t just about what’s said—it’s about how it feels. Choose the right emotional spark and a post becomes a wildfire, while others sputter out before they’ve left your immediate circle. What up with that?

Smoking kills hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. As this death toll mounts, studies continue to show that nicotine vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and far more effective than FDA-approved cessation therapies like nicotine gum. Why, then, do so many public health experts malign vaping as a threat? Let's take a closer look.

The rise of the MAHA movement and its deepening ties with the Wellness Industry reveal a shared and manipulative playbook. Both capitalize on casting doubt and levying accusations of malfeasance against established institutions, such as government agencies and the medical system. By hawking their wares based on "vibes" and emotional appeals rather than evidence, they have created a powerful alliance that monetizes public distrust.

Behind every significant advance in US food safety lies a public health disaster that forced Congress to act. A regulatory carve-out, the GRAS loophole, a long-standing exception intended for harmless pantry staples, remains a pathway that allows food and supplement companies decide for themselves whether new ingredients are safe. The FDA is once again under pressure to rein in GRAS. At stake is how much the public should trust an invisible self-policing system and the forces calling for change.

We admire scientists as the stewards of truth, exploring the unknown with curiosity, discipline, and integrity. However, when the pursuit of knowledge becomes a competitive sport for reward, a more human story of ambition, incentives, and the temptation to cheat emerges. To understand why scientists sometimes lie, we must first understand the system that rewards them for being first, rather than necessarily being right.

In this exclusive interview, I sit down with none other than ChatGPT, aka "Chatty," to tackle one of the most baffling questions in modern health trends: why do people run from nitrites in hot dogs like they’re the plague, but happily shell out for organic beet juice to get the same stuff? And for no extra charge, Chatty needs to come to terms with its own humanity.

Did you know you can be stupid in seven different ways? You bet! Let us count the ways of dumbing yourself down, according to science.

We spend so much time talking about intelligence, pondering what makes someone smart. But what about the other side of that coin? Especially in an Internet-driven world, it is worth taking a few moments to consider “stupidity,” the disease that afflicts others, but not us.